I was in Lisbon, Portugal last week. I was attending the 55th Congress of the European Regional Science Association where I was making a presentation of the factors behind the emergence and growth of the American craft beer industry. As always, before Continue reading Lisbon’s Museu da Cerveja→

One could hardly come to Dublin without visiting the Guinness Storehouse. So that is what my wife and I did during our recent trip to that fair city. Guinness and I go back a long way. Of all the beers that I currently drink with any regularity Guinness is the one with which I have the longest association. My Guinness drinking days go back over 30 years to when I was undergraduate student at the University of Continue reading The Guinness Storehouse→

Anyone who grew up in rural America, especially in the South, may remember fondly the old general store which not only carried many of the essentials of life but was also a gathering place for people in the community, especially in the winter when the clientele (often men) would sit around the pot-bellied wood stove exchanging stories and probably whittling on a piece of wood at the same time. This is the stuff of a Norman Rockwell illustration. Continue reading The Old General Store Revisited→

Art on the Mall is an annual summer art fair that is held on the campus of The University of Toledo every July. This was the 23rd year of the event and there were over 100 booths featuring the work of artists working in a variety of media including acrylic, glass, Continue reading Local Beer Please→

We are the Beer Doctors. If you follow us on Facebook (and if you don’t, you should), you’d know our favorite beers are an American India Pale Ale (AIPA) and a Bavarian Hefeweizen. American IPAs, known for their bitterness from hops, are no doubt one of the most popular craft beer Continue reading A Wanderlust For Some (Beer) Funk→

This pier at Tarbet on the shores of Loch Lomond was no more than a 15 minute walk from my parents’ home

I was born and raised in Scotland. I lived there (with the exception of an 18 month hiatus in London, England) from my birth in 1963 until emigrating to the United States in 1985. I grew up in the small Highland village of Tarbet. Continue reading Scotland’s Lager Lovelies→

A few weeks ago a colleague from Bowling Green State University sent me an e-mail. He was interested in getting together to explore the possibility of engaging in some collaborative research around the beer industry. Russ told me that his interest was in beer-oriented development (BOD). It was not a term with which I was familiar. But that’s why we have Google, right? The term appears to have been coined by Continue reading Beer-Oriented Development→

Last week my wife and I spent three days in Louisville, Kentucky. An old friend was getting married and so we decided to stay for a couple of days after the nuptials. When one thinks of Kentucky it is bourbon, not beer, that first comes to mind. The state produces 95% of the nation’s Continue reading Back to the Future in Louisville, Kentucky→

Last Sunday was Fathers Day in the United States. Fathers Day is always a struggle for those who buy me gifts. I neither need or want much and when I do need something I typically go out and buy it (which sometimes frustrates my wife). Well this particular Fathers Day my wife and Continue reading The Mug Club→

Toledo, Ohio is known as the Glass City. Reminders of this can be found everywhere around town. You can watch the University of Toledo Rockets play football in the Glass Bowl, open a bank account at the Glass City Federal Credit Union, run in the Glass City Marathon, or go to Continue reading Designed in Toledo→